By Jim Small | Arizona Mirror
Martha McSally has the solution for Arizona cities that have seen a gaping hole blown in their budgets because of the coronavirus pandemic: Sit tight and hope that the federal government loosens the strings on a too-small pot of money that you can’t access.
What she definitely doesn’t have an appetite for, she told attendees of a virtual town hall hosted last month by the city of Surprise, is giving money directly to most Arizona cities to fill the massive deficits brought on by the economic catastrophe.
“On any (new) funding, I’m just going to be frank with you guys, OK? This is not the time for states and cities – unlike Arizona, unlike Surprise – who have mismanaged their budgets over the course of many decades, for them to use this as an opportunity to see you, as a taxpayer in Arizona, as a cash cow for them,” she said.
Instead, she pointed to the $150 billion that the CARES Act set aside for states and cities and patted herself on the back for a job well done.
